CLEVELAND — Cleveland master brewer Andy Tveekrem is a big shot in the craft brewing world. He started home brewing in his late twenties and eventually turned his passion into a goal and co-founded Market Garden Brewery in Ohio City from Cleveland in 2011 and Nano Brew Cleveland in 2012.
“It’s just delicious. I like beer in almost all its varieties. But you know, craft beer just has all the flavor, the whole wide array of different flavors,” Tveekrem said. “I like my job because it comes from my hobby, right? So if you can turn your hobby into a career, that’s pretty cool. You don’t mind going to work, you know, you wake up excited every day and ready to do something new and different.
Over the years it has won several brewing competitions and a host of medals at competitions like the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup and now it adds another accolade to that list. Tveekrem was recently appointed chairman of the Association of Brewmasters. It is an international organization with approximately 5,000 members.
“I’m very honored to have been selected for this,” said Tveekrem. “And it’s, yeah, it’s really an honor. And it’s also a fair amount of work.
The organization has been around since 1887 and is one of the first business groups in North America. The organization is represented in more than 50 countries around the world.
“We exist to educate brewers. It’s a group of brewers who discuss science and technology. And really, it’s all about knowledge sharing and networking,” Tveekrem said. “We don’t really get into the commercial side. We don’t talk much about distribution, sales or marketing. It’s more just the technicalities of what goes into making a good beer.
Tveekrem has been with the organization since 1994. He has served on various committees within the organization, including the executive committee, but now, for the next year, he is the head of it all.
“There are a lot of great brewers around the world,” Tveekrem said. “And I like to think maybe I’m in the middle of a group, but definitely not leading the pack. That’s for sure.”
There are approximately 8,000 breweries in the United States alone. He said brewers are inherently collaborative. In his new role, he plans to use his knowledge of beer to continue advancing the world of craft beer. After all, he says, the better the brewers, the better the beer.
“We realize that the rising tide causes all boats to float. So if there is something in the brew that could help everyone, we want to talk about it and spread that knowledge,” Tveekrem said.
For more information on the Association of Brewmasters visit here. For more information on the Market Garden Brewery Tour here.
